Gold settler



L. HARET GOLD SETTLER June 27, 1967 Filed Oct. 28, 1964 INVENTOR Afllllitln-llllllllll- Leo Hare) United States Patent 3,327,854 GOLD SETTLER Leo Haret, 1710 Hiawatha Ave., Stockton, Calif. 95205 Filed Oct. 28, 1964, Ser. No. 407,152 Claims. (Cl. 209-464) This invention relates to a device used in gold mining, and more particularly to a device used in that type of mining known in the art as placer mining by hand, and still more particularly to a device that is known in the art as a bate-a that is herein mechanized in order to decrease the amount of work and increase the production of the individual gold miner. One of the oldest if not the very oldest device used by man in placer mining by hand is the batea which is defined as a large shallow pan of wood or iron used for washing sand and gravel to recover gold or other valuable minerals.

Since the use of a batea is hard work requiring considerable skill which can only be acquired by many hours and days of practice or by experience, and since the use of this device is also very hard on ones hands and cannot help but result in many broken finger nails as well as bruised and cut fingers by the gravel, it is desirable to have some form of device that will eliminate this hand and time consuming work and still permit one to recover the desired gold or any other valuable minerals that is being mined by this, the hand placer method.

It is, therefore, the principal object of this invention to provide a gold settler that will make it possible for one to recover the maximum amount of gold, or the like, from sand and gravel in a minimum of time and with a minimum of elfort.

Another object of this invention is to provide a gold settler that is activated manually by means of a hand crank.

Another object of this invention is to provide a gold settler that, 'while having a minimum number of parts, can effectively produce the maximum amount of gold from the sand, gravel, or gold bearing clay that is being panned in a minimum of time.

Another object of this invention is to provide a gold settler that can be made from any existing cone-shaped batea merely by securing the hand operated crank and related mechanisms to the same.

Another object of this invention is to provide a gold settler so constructed that one can at all times see the sand, gravel, or gold bearing clay that is being washed in the process of removing any gold that may be in the same.

Another object of this invention is to provide a gold settler that can be dismantled in a matter of minutes for placement in the trunk of an automobile, or the like, for transportation from one place to another since the device in dismantled form takes up a minimum of space in any object in which it is carried.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a gold settler that can readily be manufactured from easily obtainable material and parts in a manner that will make it possible for any mechanically minded person to repair the same with nothing but the ordinary tools and materials usually carried by a prospector.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing in which like characters of reference designate like parts throughout the several views thereof:

FIGURE 1 is a top view of this invention.

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view of this invention taken substantially along line 22 of FIGURE 1 and viewed in the direction indicated by the arrows.

3,327,854 Patented June 27, 1967 ice FIGURE 3 is a sectional view of that portion of this invention that is substantially along the vertical line 33 of FIGURE 2 and viewed in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Before describing the detailed construction of this invention, it should be realized that a gold settler is defined as a gold separator, which is exactly what this novel device is. The device, or more correctly speaking, the machine, consists of a batea 5 that is round when viewed from the top and cone-shaped when viewed from the side, and which is provided with a trio of angularly disposed hand-crank supporting arms 6 that are equally spaced around the periphery 7 of the aforesaid batea to which each arm is removably secured by having the lower end thereof formed into a U-shaped clamp 8 which is secured to the aforesaid periphery 7 by a cotter pin 9 after a reinforcing plate 10 has been placed over the inside of the batea, as clearly shown in the accompanying drawing. The uppermost end of each one of the aforesaid hand crank supporting arms 6 is formed into a vertically disposed member 11 and bolted, screwed, or otherwise secured to the hardwood bearing block 12 that is provided with a centrally located and vertically disposed opening through which rotatably passes the hand crank The hand crank 13 embodies the vertical portion 14 that passes through the already mentioned hardwood bearing block 12 and the handle 15. The lower end 16 of the hand crank fits into the tubular connector 17 to which it is secured by a plurality of equally spaced and parallel cotter pins 18. The upper end 19 of the agitator 20 is located within the lowermost end of the aforesaid tubular connector 17 to which it is likewise secured by a plurality of cotter pins 21 that are also in equally spaced and parallel relation to one another. The aforesaid agitator 20 is formed from round metal bar into a V-shaped configuration having its apex at the center and lowermost point. The agitator 20 is provided with an arm 22 that extends and is integral with the round metal bar that forms the agitator and extends from the outer extremity 23 back to the center to terminate in an angularly disposed downwardly turned member 24. A plurality of exaggerated U-shaped members 25 that are also formed from round metal bar, but considerably smaller in diameter than that of the aforesaid agitator 20 to which each member 25 is secured in equal and parallel spaced relation to each other by projecting through openings made in the agitator for the reception of the said portions of each member 25. This unique construction is fully illustrated in FIGURE 2 of the drawings, where it is also seen that the lower portion of the agitator also contains a plurality of rings 26 that have been placed thereon before the final assembly of this invention, it being the action of the exaggerated U-shaped members 25 and the washers 26 on the sand, gravel, or gold bearing clay within the settler that separates the material from any gold therein. The exaggerated U-shaped members 25 and washers 26 assist in breaking any lumps in the sand, gravel and gold bearing clay, and in producing a quick and thorough agitation of the contents of the batea. A trio of coil springs 27 are adjustably connected to the aforesaid hand crank supporting arms 6 in the manner shown in the drawing in order to insure additional stability to this invention when the hand crank is being rotated in the course of the normal operation of this invention which normally rests in the hollow tubular-like supporting member 28 as one can see on looking at FIGURE 2 of the drawing.

The construction of this invention has now been described in detail and its method of use is so obviously clear to those experienced in the art of gold mining as to need no description in this specification. The device can obviously be dismantled in a matter of minutes for storage in the trunk of an automobile or the like for transportation from one place to another, thereby fulfilling the previously stated sixth object of this invention.

w While the form of apparatus herein described constitutes a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited tothis precise form of apparatus, and that changes may be made therein without departing from-thescope of the invention which is defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A gold settler, comprising a batea, that is round when viewed from the top and cone-shaped when viewed from the side, supporting means secured to the batea for supporting the batea in a substantially horizontal position, a bearing block having a vertical bore therethrough located above and centrally of the batea, a plurality of spaced inclined arms, each having one end secured to the bearing block and the other end secured to the periphery of the batea, a spring for each inclined arm, each spring having its ends secured to the centers of adjacent inclined arms, whereby the springs will insure additional stability of the settler, a vertical shaft extending through the bore, means to drive the shaft and an agitator secured to the lower end of the shaft and extending down into the batea.

2. The combination of claim 1 in which the means to drive the shaft is a crank secured to the upper end of the shaft,

3. The combination of claim 1, in which the structure securing one end of each inclined arm to the batea is,

said one end bent around the periphery of the batea, there are aligned openings in the bent portion end in the batea, and a cotter pin which extends through these aligned openings.

4. The combination of claim 1 in which the structure for securing the vertical shaft to the agitator includes a sleeve, one end of the shaft extending into the sleeve, cotter pins extending through the sleeve and the end portion of the shaft, an upper portion of the agitator extending into the other end of the sleeve and cotter pins extending through the lower portion of the sleeve and the-said portion of the agitator.

5. The combination of claim 1 in which the agitator has a round metal bar extending across the batea along the inner surface thereof, said bar having pairs of substantially vertical openings therein, substantially U-shaped members each having its ends extending through a pair of openings and secured therein and rings encompassing the round bar.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 663,296 12/1900 Newkirk 209465 X 1,192,806 7/1916 Weig'and 209465 1,391,605 9/1921 Belden 259107 2,035,646 3/1936 Farrington 259-108 HARRY B. THORNTON, Primary Examiner.

L. H. EATHERTON, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A GOLD SETTLER, COMPRISING A BATEA, THAT IS ROUND WHEN VIEWED FROM THE TOP AND CONE-SHAPED WHEN VIEWED FROM THE SIDE, SUPPORTING MEANS SECURED TO THE BATEA FOR SUPPORTING THE BATEA IN A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL POSITION, A BEARING BLOCK HAVING A VERTICAL BORE THERETHROUGH LOCATED ABOVE AND CENTRALLY OF THE BATEA, A PLURALITY OF SPACED INCLINED ARMS, EACH HAVING ONE END SECURED TO THE BEARING BLOCK AND THE OTHER END SECURED TO THE PERIPHERY OF THE BATEA, A SPRING FOR EACH INCLINED ARM, EACH SPRING HAVING ITS ENDS SECURED TO THE CENTERS OF ADJACENT INCLINED ARMS, WHEREBY THE SPRINGS WILL INSURE ADDITIONAL STABILITY OF THE SETTLER, A VERTICAL SHAFT EXTENDING THROUGH THE BORE, MEANS TO DRIVE THE SHAFT AND AN AGITATOR SECURED TO THE LOWER END OF THE SHAFT, AND EXTENDING DOWN INTO THE BATEA. 